Staying positive by keeping a gratitude journal

A pretty diary will make you more inspired to keep a gratitude journal

Hey everyone!

Is it really weekend again?! I feel like time is flying at the moment. This week has felt especially quick because we celebrated Finland’s 100th independence day on Tuesday. As a true Finn I stayed inside the most of the day and saw no one (besides my sister who joined me for a run on the sunny morning).

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Last weekend when I felt especially stressed out, one of my friends asked me if I kept a gratitude journal. It’s something I’ve thought about starting for a long time but never have. But on Sunday I took the bull by the horns and bought a new diary. And started keeping a gratitude journal on Monday. Easy as that.

I use about ten minutes on it everyday and write 3-5 small things I’m grateful for that day. I can’t really tell you too much after just 5 days but I can say that keeping a gratitude journal is so good! Even on days when I haven’t done anything special I can come up with a few small things that have brought happiness to my day. Those things can be feelings, the weather, nice people or just something that has happened to you.

So why is a gratitude journal so beneficial to you? Because you really have to take the moment to focus on the good things. And when you leave the negative thoughts out and just focus on the good ones, you’ll see how your approach on your life might gradually start changing. Keeping a gratitude journal can also help you to release stress, focus on the important things and improve self-awareness.

I think keeping a journal is especially effective for me now when there’s so much going on in my life. I’m quite stressed because of the darkness and all the last deadlines I have at uni. Btw, I only have one more week left of my bachelor studies. That’s one thing I’m super grateful for!